Montserrat - Beautiful - but, has an active volcano!
| Soufriere Hills | Montserrat | Read | Eruption | Alert Level 3 | |
http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/onthego/update_montserrat_W04hERT5T227QOlZ6JeiaI
A RISING number of power cuts across Montserrat has been blamed on ash from the country’s active Soufrière Hills volcano.
Peter White, managing director of Montserrat Utilities Ltd, told Caribbeannetnews.com that the outages have been linked to more ash falling on power lines in inhabited areas.
White said the company could not control the unscheduled electricity supply interruptions because it cannot predict where the faults will happen.
“When you have the ash falling on the power lines followed by the rain, the weight of it shorts out the lines and trips the feeders. It is similar to a fuse blowing,” White said.
“The problem is also compounded when there are pyroclastic flows (from the volcano), which often causes lightning, and this also affects the electrical supply system.”
The news service said that since October there has been growing activity at the Soufriére Hills volcano, which led to a mass evacuation from parts of Montserrat when it erupted in 1995.
Winds have also recently sent more ash into the safe zones of the island.
The national water and electricity company said the fall of ash has also hampered its plans to fix one of its power generators by making it difficult to identify the specific problem areas.
Peter White, managing director of Montserrat Utilities Ltd, told Caribbeannetnews.com that the outages have been linked to more ash falling on power lines in inhabited areas.
White said the company could not control the unscheduled electricity supply interruptions because it cannot predict where the faults will happen.
“When you have the ash falling on the power lines followed by the rain, the weight of it shorts out the lines and trips the feeders. It is similar to a fuse blowing,” White said.
“The problem is also compounded when there are pyroclastic flows (from the volcano), which often causes lightning, and this also affects the electrical supply system.”
The news service said that since October there has been growing activity at the Soufriére Hills volcano, which led to a mass evacuation from parts of Montserrat when it erupted in 1995.
Winds have also recently sent more ash into the safe zones of the island.
The national water and electricity company said the fall of ash has also hampered its plans to fix one of its power generators by making it difficult to identify the specific problem areas.
Source: http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=16701
ACTIVE: Soufrière Hills volcano
Pyroclastic flows from Montserrat dome collapses have flowed down the White River creating a new delta where they entered the sea. It is uncertain if this delta will survive or be eroded by seawaves
Soufriere Hills, a stratovolcano on the island of Montserrat, began erupting on July 18, 1995. This is the first recorded eruption of this volcano in historic time. The initial small phreatic eruption produced minor ash that spread around the island. Periods of intense seismic activity were associated with strong venting of steam and ash. A new vent formed southwest of Castle Peak, an old volcanic dome.
